Cons / There are no installation manuals, as professional help is required to install the thermostat.

Verdict / With a large touchscreen and easy programming features, the Prestige HD is a thermostat that deserves your consideration.

Editor’s Note: This review has been removed from our side-by-side comparison because it no longer ranks as a top 10 product. The original review is below, but check out our current top 10 Programmable Thermostat products.

Honeywell is a worldwide leader in manufacturing products to make your home safe and comfortable. Their programmable thermostats are further proof of Honeywell's reputation for quality. The Prestige HD is not only easy to program; its portable comfort control lets you quickly and easily control the temperature anywhere in your home. With a high-definition screen and simple touchscreen technology, the Prestige HD is a good option.

Many people have programmable thermostats that they never actually program because programming can be difficult. The Prestige thermostat is one of the few thermostats that give you step-by-step instructions for setting a schedule. You do have the option of setting up the thermostat yourself, but if you have never used a programmable thermostat before, you can click the "guide me through scheduling" button and it will do most of the work for you.

The Prestige does have a one-touch override option, which lets you cancel the entire schedule and start from scratch. We especially appreciate this since life is always changing and it can be a hassle to manually change the schedule. You can also temporarily override the schedule for the day if you find yourself home at a time when you're usually away.

One design feature that stands out with the Prestige is its high-definition color screen. While you may not be watching any movies on it, the clarity of the screen makes it easy to navigate, especially at night. The touchscreen interface also helps with the already-quick programming, plus you won't have to fiddle around with any knobs or buttons.

This thermostat has a built-in level, which should help the professional who installs it to line it up straight. Unfortunately, you do need a professional to set up the thermostat. This isn't a huge drawback since any air conditioning and heating company can install it.

Honeywell has incorporated dehumidification and ventilation controls into the Prestige. Dehumidification is such a great feature because the unit draws moisture from the air, reducing the humidity in the room. Too much humidity can ruin the wood in your home as well as make the temperature drastically warmer or cooler, depending on the season. Some thermostats aren't equipped with humidity sensors and can display an inaccurate temperature. This thermostat has a sensor and works with a dehumidifier installed into your unit to reduce humidity. You just need to make sure your air conditioning and heating unit has a dehumidifier.

Having a thermostat that lets you set a ventilation schedule is great for homes with poor ventilation. Insufficient ventilation can lead to moisture issues in the winter and poor energy efficiency in the summer. The Prestige lets you set a schedule to kick on the ventilation system and keeps fresh air flowing through your home.

Honeywell integrates their Total Connect Comfort Services with the Prestige HD so you can remotely monitor and access your heating and cooling systems. This works with a mobile phone, PC or tablet. You will have to register your Prestige with Honeywell's RedLINK system to be able to have mobile access.

The Prestige has multi-stage heating and cooling. It works with three stages of heating and two stages of cooling. Modern multi-stage systems use less energy than single-stage appliances, so we like this compatibility with modern energy-saving technology. Any effort to save energy saves you money and is better for the planet.

All Honeywell thermostats have a five-year registered warranty. This covers any malfunction or parts problem. The Prestige has several videos on how to program it but no installation videos, since it requires professional installation. There is also thorough product documentation for your Prestige HD Thermostat. On Honeywell's website, you'll find pages of FAQs, an owner's manual and a section to find replacement parts for the thermostat.

Summary

The Prestige HD thermostat is one of the most feature-rich and powerful thermostats you can have. It has dehumidification and ventilation control, which you will find on very few thermostats. The large, high-definition touchscreen makes it easy to navigate and program. And while the complexity of the device requires professional installation, this thermostat will easily save you time and money in the long run.